Classics a Mile High - News From Our Lady of Victory

From the Pages of Gilbert!
The Magazine of the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton

An interview with Dr. R. Jared Staudt, co-founder of Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Victory in Denver
From the January/February 2020 Issue of Gilbert!

Gilbert!: How did Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Victory get its start in Denver?

Jared Staudt: While we opened our doors in 2019, I like to say that the school actually got its start back in 2011.

At that time, there were no classical, Catholic schools in our Archdiocese of Denver. A young, new principal—Rosemary Vander Weele—was tasked to lead Our Lady of Lourdes, a K-8 Catholic school on the verge of closing as it struggled with debt and declining enrollment. With the support of Bishop James Conley, Denver’s auxiliary bishop at the time, Rosemary believed that by adopting a classical curriculum she could differentiate the school and increase enrollment. In 2012, Our Lady of Lourdes launched a classical curriculum that focused on fostering wonder by reading great works of literature, reciting poetry, and entering more deeply into the great tradition of the Catholic liberal arts. 

With the school’s success, many people wondered if it would be possible to start a classical high school to continue the formation the students were receiving. The beginnings of this vision formed as Rosemary began praying to Our Lady of Victory that she could provide space nearby to begin a future program.

G!: When did you personally get involved in planning a classical high school? 

JS: My wife, Anne, and I sent our children to Our Lady of Lourdes in 2011 as soon as it announced its new direction. By the fall of 2018, we had an 8th grader and were seriously looking into high school options.

At the same time, several young dads at a nearby parish established a lecture series called the First Educators, to help parents fulfill their vocation as the first educators of their children. They realized that one of the most important things they could do for their families was to support and promote Catholic education. Through their research, they discovered the Chesterton Schools Network and the work Dale Ahlquist was doing to help start joyfully Catholic schools around the country using the Chesterton Academy curriculum. 

In December 2018, I met with the First Educators, along with Elias Moo, Superintendent of Catholic Schools for our Archdiocese. We all agreed we wanted to work together to start a high school and agreed to continue researching and praying. In fact, without knowing it, we both had been praying the St. Andrew’s Christmas Novena for the intention of the new high school. 

After finishing the novena, my wife and I became convinced that it was the right time to start a new classical high school. I reached out again to one of the leaders of the First Educators group, Ashley Lessard, who responded that the group was willing to explore interest for the new school. In February, they hosted Dale Ahlquist for a talk entitled “The Timeless Wisdom of G.K. Chesterton: How to Form your Children to be Joyful Leaders and Saints.” Following the event, we hosted a meeting about the possibility of starting a Catholic, classical high school and over 50 people attended. At the end of the event, we asked those who wanted to help us start a high school to come back for another meeting, and 30 people turned up. 

People always ask Dale after his lectures, “When are you going to start a high school in our area?” His answer is always, “When you start the school!” We realized that everyone had been waiting for someone else to take the initiative for a new high school and that if it was going to happen, we needed to be the ones to do it! 

We set out a number of core goals for the school, wanting it be classical, to emphasize the fine arts, and to emphasize Catholic mission and identity, including spiritual formation for the students. We realized that the Chesterton model already incorporated all of these goals and had already proven to be successful. Rather than starting from scratch, we made the decision to become a Chesterton Academy. 

We thought that if 8-9 students committed to the school in the spring, it would demonstrate sufficient interest to start. We ended up with 7, but felt that was close enough to charge ahead. This faith paid off, as we opened our doors with 20 students in August. We were also blessed to have support from the Archdiocese of Denver, as Archbishop Samuel Aquila, a great supporter of classical education, gave us his blessing to open as an officially recognized Catholic school. 

G!: You’ll be opening a second Chesterton Academy in your archdiocese in the fall. Why does the Chesterton Schools Network model seem to appeal in the Denver area?

JS: The Archdiocese of Denver has been blessed by strong lay leadership, serving as the center of the New Evangelization with apostolates such as the Augustine Institute, FOCUS, Endow, and the Denver Catholic Biblical School. The Chesterton Schools Network model, relying, as it does, on actively involved parents, fits in well with our focus on lay-led evangelization. 

G!: Tell us about your headmaster. 

JS: Garrett Cichowitz, a new convert to the Catholic faith, has been doing a great job leading the school during our first year. Previously, Garrett taught for 7 years at a Protestant classical school, where he gained tremendous experience in helping grow a young school. He primarily taught theology, but also helped start their sports program and helped with college counseling. The school recognized his tremendous leadership potential and sponsored his completion of a master’s degree in independent school leadership at Columbia. It was a great act of courage and faith for him to enter into the Church, knowing he would lose his position, as well as to move across the country to help us launch a new program. With his experience and passion, it seemed that God had been preparing him for this new role.  

G!: Your Board seems very impressive. 

JS: Our Board is comprised of several current parents, educators (including Rosemary Vander Weele from Our Lady of Lourdes and Elias Moo, Superintendent of Catholic Education for the Archdiocese of Denver), and several parents of future students. This last group—several of whom have young children who are years away from attending high school—are passionate about classical education and have made a huge commitment and sacrifice for the future of education. With backgrounds in education, law, computer programing, development, business, accounting, and marketing, we have been blessed with a large amount of talent, and also energy, with an average age just under forty.

G!: Are there any special activities that might make your school distinct from other schools in the Network. 

JS: We focus on the outdoors and personal formation. We started the school year with a three-day backpacking trip in the mountains and offer “Friday Formation” each week. Activities range from praying outside of Planned Parenthood, working with the homeless, praying a holy hour, to attending the symphony. We also held our first annual Lepanto Dinner on October 7th, a banquet to celebrate the school’s patronal feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (also known as Our Lady of Victory from the Battle of Lepanto), as well as our first Advent lesson and carols.

G!: Why do you think students benefit from reading G.K. Chesterton? 

JS: Chesterton brings us needed common sense, particularly as he points us back to the most fundamental goods of human life. He helps us to rediscover the importance of right thinking, family, local community, the great tradition, and beauty, all of which translate directly into the vision of classical education. Our schools cannot simply teach the truth, but now have to help in the recovery of humanity, rediscovering things that we could take for granted in the past.  Classical education will continue to expand because it helps in the process of recovering the truth, beauty, and goodness we have lost in our society.

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Dr. Staudt serves as Director of Formation for the Archdiocese of Denver and teaches at the Augustine Institute. He is a Benedictine oblate and the father of six children.